Braintree Jumps To High Risk For Coronavirus With 391 New Cases

BRAINTREE, MA — Braintree was designated high-risk in the state's latest town-by-town coronavirus states Thursday.

The town's positive test rate jumped to 5.83 percent over that last two weeks. Braintree also had 70.4 average daily cases per 100,000 residents, up from 4.48 percent and 47.91 last week.

The town added 391 new cases in the last two weeks, bringing it to over 2,000 total cases.

Braintree's rise in cases has started to effect the school system. The district implemented fully remote learning Friday and will remain out of the classroom until at least Jan. 4.

Braintree has been in a hybrid model for all schools. Elementary students attended in-person classes four days per week, while middle and high school students were in-person for two half-days per week. The other days involve remote learning.

The rise in cases also forced the school committee to halt plans to expand in-person class time.

Originally, the Mayor Charles Kokoros and the school committee set a goal of returning to full in-person learning by Jan. 4, but the recent spike forced the school committee to push back this goal for the foreseeable future.

"The timing right now, with the influx of new cases, has made it impossible for us to do that safely," Kokoros said. "We know we are going to see an even bigger spike."

>>MA Town-By-Town Coronavirus Stats: Majority Of Towns High Risk

State Update

The latest state report saw more than half of Massachusetts cities and towns designated high risk by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The town-by-town report labeled 187 Massachusetts communities as high risk for the virus, up from 158 last week.

The statewide positive test rate over the last two weeks increased in 243 — or 69.2 percent — of the 351 communities in the state. The rate fell in 74 — or 21.1 percent of — communities and held steady in the remaining 34.

The statewide positive test rate rose to 6.0 percent.